WHAT DOES IT MEAN?Provisions of the health care reform law will be implemented gradually, with some taking effect within six months while others will not be enforced until 2014. One provision is that dependent children will be allowed to stay on their family health insurance policy until age 26. This means within six months health insurance companies must allow dependent children, who are not already covered by an employer’s health insurance, to be covered until their 26th birthday. The definition of a dependent has yet to be outlined specifically by health insurance companies, so the restrictions of this provision are still unclear.IN COMING DAYS* Wednesday: Health care fact vs. fiction* Friday: Money for student loans* Saturday: Calorie counts on menus and drive-throughs
Under health reform legislation signed last week, dependent children will be allowed to stay on their family health insurance policy until age 26, a change that should ease worries among young adults struggling to find employment.
“The provision about 26-year-olds, I think is fantastic, especially with the difficult economic and job market,” said Stephen Dorner, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Georgia. “A lot of students will be graduating, and they won’t know what they’re going to be doing, and it may be some time before they find a job where they can get health insurance and they can afford the premiums.”
President Barack Obama signed the health care bill — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — Tuesday, extending coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans and requiring most to buy insurance by 2014 or face penalties.
Insurance executives say they are poring through more than 2,000 pages of the health reform law to determine how it will affect their business. They are unsure about implementing details of the provision affecting coverage of dependent young adults, which takes effect within six months.